


Return Journey

by VelkynKarma



Series: Parallel by Proxy [14]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Gen, Injury, Kuron (Voltron)-centric, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-02-29 07:56:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18774466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelkynKarma/pseuds/VelkynKarma
Summary: Matt receives a distress signal from a pair of rebels on a remote outpost and asks the team for help. The last thing in the universe Ryou expects is to know them already. The last thing he'd ever planned on was to go back.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to write a fic with these characters for _so long._

They’re in the middle of dinner when Matt gets the call. 

Matt’s not technically a part of team Voltron—he’s always been more of the official liaison between the rebels and the coalition. It means he’s stationed on the Castle of Lions, but he gets calls and orders on a regular basis from Olia and other high ranking rebel leaders, and sometimes he’ll be called away on missions unrelated to Voltron’s duties. 

So nobody thinks twice when Matt excuses himself from the dinner table and steps out to take an unexpected communication. But everyone, Ryou included, looks up when he returns with a grim expression on his face and says, “We have a problem.”

“What’s wrong?” Shiro asks, immediately attentive. Everyone else stops eating, exchanging confused and worried glances.

“I’ve just gotten word from Olia,” Matt says, already swiping his hands through the air to access the Castle computers. “We’ve gotten a distress signal from two of our listening outpost agents. The Galra have confirmed the planet they’re on.”

Everyone goes still. There’s no way this can lead to anything good.

“These agents have been planted for almost five years, gathering major intelligence on Galra projects and troop movements,” Matt continues, as he types on one of the holographic screens he brings up, transmitting the data he’s just received. “If they get caught, not only do we lose all that intel, the Galra can interrogate our agents on rebel protocols _.  _ Problem is, they’re at a remote post intentionally. There’s no way any of our agents can get to them in time. But with a wormhole…”

Allura frowns. “Where is this location? If it is distant enough, more than one wormhole may be required, or I may need time to prepare. Perhaps more time than they have.”

Matt finishes typing with a flourish, and an image pops up on screen, along with a set of coordinates. “This is the place. Can you make it?”

Ryou’s heart drops into his stomach as he glances as the image. He recognizes the planet-sized spire of ice and snow, and the halo of enormous frozen shards circling it. 

After all, he’d had an excellent look at it when he’d crash-landed on it more than a year ago.

Old memories—the first memories that had ever been  _ his,  _ even if he hadn’t known it—immediately bubble to the surface. Crash landing, and nearly dying in the ship, once at impact and once when it had gone over the side of a cliff. Wandering for more than a quintent in frigid climates, hurting, starving, thirsty, exhausted, and so very alone. Nearly being eaten by that enormous tentacle-crab monster, and lacking the strength to get up and run even when it had fled. 

It’s not a place he’d ever want to go back to. Not if he had a choice. 

But if there’s been a distress signal from two rebel agents  _ there,  _ then that means…

He’s standing before he even realizes it, both hands braced firmly on the table. “We’ll do it,” he says. “The coordinates are close enough that Allura can make it in one jump. She’ll be on wormholes; we’ll need to get in and out fast. That means Lance in Blue and Keith in Red. We—”

He pauses. Everyone is staring at him, even Shiro. After a long moment, Shiro raises a slow eyebrow, and Keith frowns, just slightly.

Belatedly, Ryou realizes what he’d been doing. He hadn’t even  _ meant  _ to take over like that; it had just sort of happened. “Sorry,” he mutters, embarrassed, forcing himself to sit down. 

“But we  _ have  _ to move fast,” he adds adamantly, after a moment, looking Shiro directly in the eye. “Vakala and Remdax’s base is hidden, and the ice and snow will make it harder for them to be found, but they don’t have that much time.” 

Matt frowns. “I didn’t tell you their names yet,” he says. He taps more holographic keys, and photos of the two agents appear on screen. They’re wearing the more traditional rebel uniforms, not the heavy winter gear Ryou had seen them in last, but it’s  _ definitely  _ Vakala and Remdax. 

“I’ve met them before,” Ryou says shortly. 

There’s an awkward silence for a moment or two, before Shiro breaks it. “You heard him,” he says, nodding to Ryou. “Suit up and get into position. Allura, how long until we’re ready to wormhole?”

“I can be prepared in five doboshes,” Allura says confidently, rising from her seat. 

“Good. Everyone, get to your Lions.” 

Everyone breaks from the table and dashes off in a hurry. Ryou does as well, but he isn’t surprised at all when Shiro falls into step next to him as they run for their uniforms. 

“You want to tell me what that was about?” Shiro asks bluntly.

Ryou grits his teeth. “No time for the full story,” he says. “I met them when I first...escaped. When I still thought I was you.”

“I see,” Shiro says, frowning. “So they’re friends of yours?”

“Not exactly. But…” Ryou hesitates. “They’re the first people who ever helped me. Granted, I thought I was you at the time, so I wouldn’t have known that. But still. I wouldn’t have made it this far without their help. I’d be tentacle crab chow, and the Galra would have eventually spat out another clone to do my job.”

Shiro frowns at him. “There’s more to it than that, or you wouldn't be this worked up.”

Ryou grimaces. “I took their only shuttle,” he admits after a moment, like he’s confessing to a terrible crime. “I bullied them into it so I could get back to Voltron. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time, trying to get back to the team, but now I know that was part of my directives, too. If it wasn’t for me, they’d have a better chance to get out of this mess on their own.” 

“None of that’s your fault,” Shiro says. “You couldn’t have predicted any of this. You were just doing what you had to.”

“Maybe,” Ryou mutters. “Tell that to my subconscious.”

“Do you want to take lead on this?”

Ryou’s eyes widen, and he stares at Shiro as they run alongside each other. “What?”

“Did you want to take lead? This mission seems...important to you.” 

“I…” It’s tempting, but after a moment he shakes his head. “No. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“The team would listen to you. They have experience with it.”

“But that was only with me pretending to be you, still,” Ryou counters. “I’ve never tried to lead or form Voltron since bonding with Black in my own way. I don’t know if we can, and this is a speed mission. It’s not the time to find out.”

“Fair enough,” Shiro agrees. “But I want you consulting on this, at the very least. You know the terrain and the rescue targets best. We’ll need that to pull this off.”

Ryou nods. “Alright. Fine.”

Everyone is suited up and in their Lions just in time for Allura’s wormhole. The moment the Castle of Lions passes through to the other side, all five of them are out of their hangars and racing for the spire-shaped planet. 

Even despite their fast reaction time, there are already two enormous battle cruisers hovering in the planet’s atmosphere, and hundreds of fighters. Voltron immediately has its work cut out for it, even with the Castle of Lions for support. 

“Any word from the rebels?” Shiro calls over the comms, as all five Lions dive into the fray. He’s piloting Black, and forms the jaw blade to slice through four fighters in a row. Ryou stands behind him in the cockpit, one hand on the pilot’s chair to steady himself. 

“Rescue targets are silent. And still no ETA on arrival from backup,” Matt reports back, from his support position on the Castle of Lions. “Too far with too many Galra ships in between. This is a major Galra thoroughfare; they can get reinforcements here quick, and we can’t.” 

“Alright team, then assume we’re in this solo,” Shiro orders, slicing another fighter in half. “We need to get in, get the rebels, and get out as fast as possible. Lance, Hunk, Keith, keep the skies clear so we have an exit. Pidge, use your camo to get down to the base coordinates and get them on—”

“No,” Ryou interrupts. “That won’t work.”

Shiro frowns. “Why not?”

“They’re not exactly trustworthy sorts,” Ryou says. “It was hard enough to convince them I was on their side. They were convinced I was a Galra spy—and to their credit, they weren’t exactly wrong.” 

“You didn’t—”

“I know I didn’t know at the time. That doesn’t change how they might react if Pidge busts in there in the middle of a Galra attack,” Ryou says. “Besides, with this many fighters, you can’t afford to be down the Green Lion.”

“Alright. What’s your plan, then?” Shiro asks. 

“Kick up enough of a distraction that they won’t see a single paladin, and airdrop me in. They know me. I can convince them to leave with us.” 

Shiro frowns. “You’re sure about this.” It’s more a statement than a question. Thanks to Black, Ryou can quite literally hear the impressions of  _ this didn’t work out so well last time,  _ and vague memories of Olkarion.

“Absolutely,” Ryou says, forcing back those thoughts. “Besides, that outpost is like a maze of tunnels. I’ve been there. I know where I’m going. Just keep ground troops off of us until I can give the signal.” 

Shiro’s still frowning, but Ryou knows doesn’t have other options. “Fine. Keith, Lance—get me an opening.”

“Yes, sir!”

“On it!”

Ryou darts out of the cockpit just as the Blue and Red Lions both dive. They blast fighters to either side of the Black Lion, and kick up clouds of snow from the ground as their laser blasts smash through the ships to the planet. The resulting smoke and steam is more than enough cover to hide one single human in the middle of a dogfight. Ryou waits, poised in the Black Lion’s mouth, for Shiro to give him the opportunity.

“We’re near the base coordinates,” Shiro says a moment later. “Be careful, Ryou.”

“I will be,” he promises.

The Black Lion’s jaws open wide with a rumble, almost as though the Lion is telling him to be careful, too. He pats the inside of the jaw once, reassuringly, and then hurls himself out into open air.

Shiro had timed it well, with Lance and Keith still providing cover, and had released Ryou only a few hundred feet from the surface. It’s child’s play to kick on his jetpack and control his landing, and less than thirty seconds later he’s firmly on the ground, shin-deep in snow. 

It’s definitely a  _ much  _ better landing than last time.

It feels strange, being back. Still the same jagged black rocks and powered white snow everywhere; still the same harsh winds and wild flurries beating against him; still the same endless expanse that goes on for miles and miles. 

It’s the same as before, but this time everything is so  _ different,  _ too. This time he’s armored and shielded from the cold, healthy, and has the protection of his family high above him. He’s here of his own volition, not trapped and desperate to escape. Most importantly, this time, he knows who he is.

This place isn’t going to beat him. And it’s not going to beat Vakala and Remdax, either.

He dives into action, running through the deep snow as fast as he can. He only uses the jetpack at short intervals when he absolutely has to; he doesn’t want to give away his position with the flashes it emits each time it’s used. 

But even without that assistance, the armor makes it much easier to slog through the snow. The biting winds can’t freeze his face or his lungs with his helmet sealed. The armor protects him from the worst of the ice and snow, and the boots provide excellent traction, unlike the pitiful slave’s uniform he’d been here in last.

Now if he can just find the entrance…

_ There! _

The easiest entrance to the cave is set atop an enormous outcropping of rock and snow, but it blends in so well with the rest of the scenery it’s hard to spot unless you know what to look for. Fortunately, Ryou has seen it before, after following Vakala out here when trying to escape. 

There are ground troops and low-flying fighters everywhere, but they don’t seem to have spotted the entrance yet. And right on time, the Black and Yellow Lions smash down onto the largest company of sentries and begin wreaking havoc. It draws the attention of more ground searching troops and fighters, and in all the chaos Ryou is able to slip into the cavern entrance unseen.

That doesn’t mean he’s home free. Not yet. The rebels had chosen well for their listening outpost. The whole giant outcropping is riddled with a natural cave system that’s a maze in and of itself, and an excellent line of defense against invaders. Vakala and Remdax will have the home team advantage here, assuming they play their cards right. 

_ Please let me remember how this place works,  _ he silently begs the universe, as he sets off down the corridor.. The last thing he needs, after his confident reassurance to Shiro, is to have a blank hole where his memory of this place is supposed to be. 

For once, the universe listens. He only takes one wrong turn to find his way to the command area. He recognizes the makeshift room where they’d hung him up by his wrists, and the furs hung in the doorway to separate it from the listening tech.

A crash comes from beyond the hanging furs, and Ryou freezes, immediately pressing himself against the wall. It  _ could  _ be Vakala or Remdax, but considering the hundreds of sentries out there searching for rebels, the chances are slim.

Slowly and carefully, he inches forward enough to peek through a gap in the furs with one eye. Just like he’d guessed, a pair of sentries are digging through the shattered remains of the listening tech Vakala and Remdax had set up. The sentries’ weapons are leaned against the wall, but even with the odds more in his favor, Ryou backs away from the encounter. The last thing he needs is to alert anyone of his presence before he’s found who he’s looking for.

_ So they aren’t here,  _ he thinks to himself.  _ And not captured, either. They must be hiding somewhere else in the base.  _

It could take forever to find them, though. The tunnel systems had half a dozen offshoots and dead ends. They wouldn’t be able to delay the inevitable forever, but they could try to buy time for the rescue to get there, if they had to.

Now Ryou just has to make sure he finds them, first. He sets off into the tunnels, watchful and carefully listening.

Travel is slow going. There are other sentries combing through the caverns too, and he has to duck aside to hide in small spaces or break off tunnels. A few areas have carved out dead ends that have been turned into makeshift rooms for additional storage or supplies. They make for decent hiding as well, if they aren’t being scavenged by the enemy.

But despite his attempts, in the end, it’s not Ryou that finds them first. The sharp retort of a laser rifle and several loud thuds catch his attention, though, and he immediately veers in that direction. 

He’s just in time. There’s a barricade set up against one of the makeshift rooms with old supply crates and broken shuttle parts, and two sentries are trying to shoot through it. Ryou has no idea why either of the rebels he’s trying to rescue would hole up so obviously, but there’s no doubt who’s on the other side of that barricade.

The sentries just manage to blast a decent sized hole through the barricade when Ryou strikes. They aren’t expecting attackers from behind, so it’s almost child’s play for Ryou to power up his Olkari arm and put two fist-sized energy blasts through the back of each sentry’s artificial skulls. The robots both collapse immediately, dropping their weapons. 

Ryou breathes a sigh of relief as he powers down his arm. “Hey, it’s—”

The muzzle of a rebel firearm shoves through the hole the sentries had blasted into the barricade. A deep voice roars, “You’ll never take us alive, Galra scum!” ticks before the person on the other side opens fire. 

Ryou swears, and barely manages to get the wrist shield up in time on his right arm. He braces against it with his left, because the shooter—definitely Remdax—doesn’t appear to be interested in letting up any time soon. 

He can’t believe he’s doing this for a  _ second  _ time, honestly. At least he’s more bullet-proof than last time. 

“Stop!” Ryou shouts over the roar of gunfire, and equally loud inarticulate roaring of Remdax’s. “It’s  _ me,  _ Remdax!” 

“I don’t know any Galra bastards!” Remdax retaliates. He’s still firing, non-stop.

_ “Remdax!”  _ Ryou snaps. “It’s  _ me! _ I  _ will  _ hit you in the face with your friend’s gun again if you don’t knock it off!”

The gunfire cuts off abruptly, although Ryou doesn’t lower his shield just yet. After a moment, the muzzle of the gun withdraws from the barricade, and a red-rimmed eye appears at the hole instead.  _ “Shiro?” _

Belatedly, Ryou recognizes a small flaw in his plan. 

But it’s a little too late to back down now, and there is  _ definitely  _ not enough time to explain. So he just snaps, “Yes. Are you going to shoot me again, or are you going to let me help you?”

Remdax stares at him for a moment through the barricade. But then his eye disappears from the hole, and there’s a rumbling screech as he starts shoving aside several of the boxes. “Get in here.”

“No,” Ryou says, although he does finally drop his arm and put away the shield. “That was loud, and more sentries will come looking in a tick. We need to go. Where’s Vakala?”

“In here,” Remdax says, as he finishes pushing the boxes aside. “He’s hurt pretty bad. That’s why I had to dig in.” 

Now that Ryou has a better look at him, Remdax doesn’t look so great himself. One of his mustache-like fins is sliced wide and bleeding, and there’s a nasty burn on his left arm that cuts through even the layers of thick winter gear he’s wearing. He looks worn out—but not yet out of the fight. 

Vakala, when Ryou peeks into the room, is even worse. He’d been laid out on the floor at the back of the room, out of the way of the line of defense. There are thick bandages around his torso where he’d either been stabbed or shot, and a painful-looking welt on his head. He’s unconscious, probably due to the head injury. Remdax had done an adequate job bandaging up his friend on the fly, but the bandages are already staining a deep blue color, which probably means Vakala is in trouble.

No wonder Remdax had been forced to fortify. Even if he were conscious, Ryou doubts he could stay on the move for very long.

“Where’d you come from, anyway?” Remdax asks, as he glares over Ryou’s shoulder, gun at the ready.

“Voltron is here to rescue you,” Ryou says. “The rebels sent us word of your distress signal. I’m here to get you out.”

“Well I’ll be the Phloban of Gargalax,” Remdax says, his single unscarred eye wide in surprise. “You really  _ did  _ make it to Voltron.”

“I did,” Ryou says, “And I’ll be happy to tell you the whole story later—” or at least, a very, very edited version of that story, sans the whole ‘clone’ detail, “—but now’s not the time. What happened to him? Can we move him?” He nods to Vakala.

Remdax looks grim—or at any rate, grimmer than usual—as he answers. “We got word the Galra were coming. Protocol is to save what data we can and destroy the rest. Vakala started setting that up while I planted charges to blow this place when the Galra came inside. But they got here too fast and attacked before he was done. I got him out of there, but…” He gestures to the injuries on the other rebel fighter.

Ryou presses his lips together. That’s not good, but they’ll just have to make do. “If we can get outside one of the Lions can pick us up. We can get him to medical care and both of you to safety.”

“Easier said than done,” Remdax says. “The base is crawling with those sentries. They’ve got to have the entrances covered.”

“They didn’t have the one I came in on covered,” Ryou says. But he doubts they could make it that far, at this point. The hallways are getting harder to navigate, and that entrance is a long way up. With Vakala in his condition, they’d never make it. 

But there is one other way out.

“What about the way I left last time?” Ryou asks. “The makeshift shuttle bay.”

Remdax gives him an odd look. “Not an exit again. We let it freeze over, worse than last time. Didn’t have a shuttle, so there was no need to maintain that exit. A big open hole is too obvious.” 

“The ice won’t be an issue,” Ryou promises. “As long as you didn’t plant any of those charges in that bay yet.”

Remdax shakes his head. “Started with the hallways. We had supplies we wanted to get out of the bay before we ran, but we ran out of time.”

“Good,” Ryou says. “Perfect. That works for us. We’re going to break out through the shuttle bay, and use those as a distraction to let us get away.” 

Remdax gives him an incredulous look. “I just told you, we can’t get out that way! Even if we got there through all the sentries, that ice is three feet thick at least. Blasters’d take forever to cut through it, they’ll catch us first.” He shakes his head. “You’re still crazy. Knew we should’ve eaten you.”

Ryou snorts. “My last crazy idea worked out just fine. Here I am, with Voltron outside to the rescue.” He gestures at his own paladin armor, a stark contrast against the slave uniform he’d been here in last time. “Trust me. I can get us out of this.” 

Remdax does not look happy, but the clank of sentry feet outside in a nearby corridor is enough to spur his decision making. “Fine,” he grouses. “I already know I’m crazy, anyway, living out here for five years. What’s a little more?”

“That’s the spirit,” Ryou says, smirking a little. “Can you carry him? Even with an injured arm?” He gestures to Vakala.

Remdax gives Ryou an almost offended look, and growls, “Does a wilburlm dayflix?” 

“Um…” Ryou stares for a moment, and then offers hesitantly, “Yes?”

Remdax rolls his remaining eye, and says, “Yeah, I got him! Just tell me what else to do.”

“Carry him and keep an eye out for enemies,” Ryou orders. “I’ll do most of the fighting, but we fight only when we have to. We head for the shuttle bay. Clear?”

“Sure,” Remdax says, as he turns to collect his friend. 

While he’s getting Vakala ready, Ryou makes contact with the team again. “I’ve found them,” Ryou says over the comms. “We’re working on an escape route now. I’ll need somebody on standby for pickup...either the Yellow or Blue Lion. And one of them is hurt badly, so have Coran start prepping the med bay.”

“Got it,” Shiro responds. His voice is strained, and Ryou can hear a lot of feedback and explosions in the background. “Hunk—you’re on standby. Keith, Pidge, get those skies clear and keep our route to the Castle open. Lance, you and me clear the ground troops so Hunk has room to work, and we guard him on pickup. Ryou—hurry. It’s getting busy out here. We can’t stay split for much longer—we need to either form Voltron or get out.”

And Voltron was great for grand entrances and fighting enormous ships or beasts, but less great at speedy recovery operations. “We’ll go as fast as we can,” he promises.

“Ready,” Remdax says, stepping up to Ryou. Vakala’s torso injury means he can’t be safely carried over a shoulder, so Remdax is forced to use two hands to move him instead, and his rifle is slung over his back. 

He doesn’t look happy about being disarmed. But Ryou has no doubt that if push comes to shove, the rebel can still put up a serious fight to protect both himself and his friend, even barehanded.

“Hold,” Ryou orders. The clank of sentry feet outside gets louder, then recedes again as the bots stamp down a different hallway. “Okay, go.”

They go.

Getting to the shuttle bay is tricky. Remdax is able to give decent directions to it, which match Ryou’s hazy understanding of where it is. But getting to it isn’t so straightforward when sentries are patrolling the tunnels. 

Most of the time they’re able to duck aside into an alcove or side tunnel and wait for the sentries to clank past. But twice Ryou is forced to fight, throwing up his left wrist shield to protect himself and the rebels while firing back with his Olkari arm. 

“Leave them,” Ryou orders, the first time he drops a pair of sentries. “They’ll know we’re here, but we need the speed more.”

Remdax merely grunts in response, and then says, “New arm.”

Right. He’d still had the Galra arm when he’d run across the two of them, last time. They’d been frightened by and later awed at his ability to block a shot from their rifles with his hand. 

“Got an upgrade,” he says, which isn’t untrue, even if it’s far from the whole story. “The range is useful.”

Remdax just grunts a secondary acknowledgement, clearly impressed.

By the time they finally make it to the shuttle bay, Ryou can tell the sentries have caught on to where they’re at; the echoing clanks of approaching bots are getting louder. The fighting is getting more intense outside, too, to judge by the blasts and yells Ryou hears over the comms, and the distant rumbles he can feel reverberating through the stone. They need to get out of here. Fast. 

“We’re in position,” he calls over the comms, as he grabs the nearest stack of supply crates and drags them up the five steps to block the entrance to the bay. Remdax sets Vakala down on the floor and helps, displaying an impressive amount of strength even with an injured arm as he drags two at a time into place. It won’t hold the sentries for long, but it will delay them long enough. 

Ryou hopes, anyway.

“I’ve got three fighters on my tail!” Hunk yells back. “It’s gonna be a tick!”

“I’m coming,” Keith says. “I see them, hold on—”

“Head’s up, more incoming—” 

Ryou grits his teeth. “They’re on their way,” he tells Remdax. “We just need to hold out long enough.”

Remdax looks a little disbelieving, even as he gathers up Vakala again. The other rebel groans softly, and his bandages are a little more stained than before. The activity can’t be good for him. He needs a pod, now.

As if to make matters worse, the first of the sentries reaches the barricade, and the crates they’ve stacked at the door rattle heavily from the strikes on the other side. Moments later, the muted bursts of rifle shots cause the rattling to get louder, and Ryou can smell melting metal. 

“Now what?” Remdax hisses, glaring at the barricade. He looks like he’s itching to use the rifle strapped across his back. Ryou is glad his hands are full with his friend, because he really can’t afford to have Remdax breaking rank.

“Need a place for shelter,” Ryou says, looking around the bay. The empty area in the center where the shuttle had once been is now filled in with some supplies, but it’s too close for what he has in mind. And anything back here by the doors is too exposed to enemy fire. He settles for a corner far enough from the entrances that they’ll be safe, sheltered by other large storage crates, and says, “This way. Follow me.”

“And do what? Wait to be cornered?” Remdax says, but although his expression is dubious, he follows Ryou anyway. But not without muttering, “Crazy,” under his breath again.

“Crazy that works,” Ryou reminds him. “Just a few more doboshes.”

Over the comms, Keith yells, “That’s the last of them, you’re clear!”

“I’ve got you covered, Hunk,” Lance adds. “You’re up!”

“And what am I  _ doing?”  _ Hunk asks, practical as always.

“Can you see my position?” Ryou asks.

“I’ve got your coordinates.”

“Great. There’s a wall of ice between you and me—that’s your target. I’ve got a safe position for us. We need pickup.”

Ryou can almost hear Hunk grinning over the comms. “I’m on my way.”

Remdax eyes Ryou sideways with his remaining eye as he listens to half the conversation, then glances back over his shoulder as the banging behind them gets louder. “We’re trapped.”

“We’ll be fine,” Ryou says. They finally make it to the corner, and he reaches up to push down on Remdax’s shoulder. “Crouch in the corner. Shield yourself and Vakala as much as you can.”

“And do what? Die begging for our lives?” Remdax snaps, irritable. “I’d rather die fighting—”

“Nobody is dying,” Ryou says, as patiently as possible. “We’re leaving. Trust me.”

Remdax grits his teeth, but finally does as bid. He crouches in the corner, facing sideways so he can keep as much of an eye as possible on the doorway the sentries are still banging at, while shielding the unconscious Vakala with his own body. Remdax is not what Ryou would call compact by a long shot, but it’s enough for what he has in mind. 

“Incoming in five ticks,” Hunk warns over the intercoms. Through the thick sheet of ice on the far side of the shuttle bay, Ryou can see a steadily growing, distorted yellow and gray blur.

Behind him, the barricade finally shatters, and the sentries start storming in. 

“They’re through,” Remdax says—although, to his credit, he doesn’t argue Ryou’s plan again.

“Good,” Ryou says, as he crouches down in front of Remdax and Vakala, and raises his wrist shield defensively. 

“What’s that supposed to—”

Ice shards explode inwards as the Yellow Lion’s head smashes into and through the thick wall of ice hiding the bay. Several large dagger-like shards pierce the searching sentries or crush their artificial heads and limbs, rendering them immobile and harmless. Other shards, and the concussive blast of wind that arrives with the Lion’s assault, throw both sentries and supplies alike backwards. 

Several chunks clatter off the cold stone walls around Ryou and his rescuees, and a few little ones even clatter off of his shield. But he had judged the distance accurately, and they remain unscathed.

“Ride’s here,” Hunk announces unnecessarily, as the Yellow Lion’s jaws open and drop to rest on the shuttle bay floor. 

Ryou jumps to his feet immediately, dropping his shield and reaching beneath Remdax’s arm to haul him up. “Move,” he orders.

Remdax staggers upright, but stares at the Yellow Lion’s enormous head in shock. “What in the universe is  _ that?”  _

“That would be the Yellow Lion of Voltron,” Ryou says, keeping his left arm firmly under Remdax’s to keep him moving forward, “and it’s our ride out. Get in its mouth, hurry.”

“It’s not going to eat us, is it?” Remdax asks, eyeing the metal jaws dubiously.

“If you want to be technical, yes,” Ryou says. “It’s a ship, you’ll be fine.  _ Hurry!”  _ Already the sentries that haven’t been damaged are starting to stagger to their feet and find their weapons, and more are coming down the passageways. They have ticks to spare at best.

Remdax still seems a little stunned at the Yellow Lion’s arrival, which is not an uncommon reaction to seeing any of the Lions for the first time. To his credit, he still does as ordered, hunching his shoulders protectively around Vakala as best as he can while he sprints for the Yellow Lion’s jaw ramp. 

Ryou runs after him, bringing his shield up on his left arm just as the sentries start firing. His shield deflects most of the blasts, and he returns fire a few times with his Olkari arm, taking down one or two of the attackers with bright green pulses of energy. 

Then Remdax hits the jaw ramp, scrambling up it into the Yellow Lion’s mouth. Five ticks later, so does Ryou, and he yells, “We’re in, close it, close it!”

Several Galra blasts strike the interior of the Lion’s jaws, glancing perilously close to Ryou and his rescuees. Ryou even takes a few superficial burns on his armor, though nothing dangerous enough to actually hurt him. Sparks burst off the interior metal of the hatch, but then the Lion’s mouth finally snaps shut, and the blaster noises become dull and distant.

“Hang on,” Hunk warns. “We’re getting out of here!”

The metal flooring rumbles as the Yellow Lion’s head pulls out of the shuttle bay, and Ryou braces his hand against the inside of its mouth to keep on his feet. The interior of the mouth is faintly lit with yellow and blue lighting, but it isn’t a comfortable or stable ride.

“We’ve been eaten by a giant metal cat,” Remdax says, still incredulous. 

“If it makes you feel better, it won’t digest you,” Ryou says. “C’mon, we need to move.”

“Move?” Remdax asks, frowning. “To go where?” 

“The cabin. If we stay here, Hunk can’t use the cannon,” Ryou says, gesturing at the large circular section at the back of the Yellow Lion’s mouth. “And it’s not exactly a smooth ride in here.” As if to emphasize his point, the whole mouth shakes violently, presumably as Hunk smashes into and through a fighter. Vakala groans in pain.

Remdax grimaces. “Alright,” he says. “Lead the way.”

Ryou leads him up to the cabin, where Hunk is busily working the controls and yelling back and forth to the others. “Cannon’s yours, Hunk,” he says. Hunk glances over his shoulder for a moment and nods gratefully, before going back to the fight.

Ryou grabs the first aid kit from the Yellow Lion’s supplies next, as he stays on the comms. “Shiro, we’re in,” he says. “Someone needs to blast that outcropping we were just located in. It’s set with charges that will wipe it off the map. Then we bolt.”

“Acknowledged,” Shiro says. “I’ll blow it myself. Allura—get a wormhole ready. Team—make for the Castle.”

“Wormhole will be ready at your signal,” Allura says. She sounds strained, maintaining defense and cover systems from the Castle, even with the aid of Matt and Coran. 

Ryou crouches next to Vakala, now stretched out on the floor of the cabin, and pulls out several cleaner bandages from the first aid kit. It shouldn’t be too much longer until they can get him to a pod, but his current bandages are unhealthily damp. 

Remdax gives him a funny look, even as he helps remove the old bandages. “Who was that on the radio?” he asks finally. 

Right. He’d be able to hear the conversation from the cabin of the Lion. “The first was Voltron’s leader,” Ryou says. “The second was Princess Allura.”

Remdax looks even more confused at this. “Why’d you call  _ him  _ Shiro then?”

Crap.

“Long story,” Ryou says, as he presses the new bandages to Vakala’s wounded side. “Explain later.” As soon as he actually has a good story to do so.

Remdax scowls, like he wants an answer  _ now.  _ But a particularly intense blast sends the Yellow Lion spinning through the air, and Hunk yells loudly. Several other Lions converge on their position to help, and in the ensuing chaos, the question is forgotten. 

“Base is blasted,” Shiro yells, and the Black Lion rockets past Yellow’s screens. “Allura, wormhole us out of here, now!”

“On it!” 

The swirl of blue and white energy is one of the most welcome sights Ryou’s ever seen. The Lions each converge on the Castle of Lion as it begins to sink through the wormhole, and plunge into its rippling surface. Remdax yelps at the odd sensation of phasing through space to a new position entirely, and even Ryou, long since accustomed to it, braces. 

But then they’re home free on the other side, and safe and sound from the Galra.


	2. Chapter 2

More than two vargas later, things finally begin to calm down again.

After safely escaping and returning to the Castle, both rebels had been immediately whisked off to the infirmary. Vakala was still there two vargas later, and Coran estimated with his injuries he would be until well into the next morning.

Remdax, on the other hand, had only needed about two vargas in a pod to repair his comparatively minor injuries. It had still been more than enough time for Ryou to get cleaned up, changed into civilian gear, and even mess around in the kitchen.

Matt would be responsible for meeting with Remdax immediately for debriefing, as the only rebel agent on-hand. But he had graciously agreed to allow both Shiroganes to be present—Shiro as the head of Voltron, and Ryou for his role in rescuing the rebel in the first place.

Ryou is glad enough for the invite. Once both Remdax and Vakala are healed and debriefed, Matt will take them back to the closest rebel base. The small chance to catch up with with two rebels before they leave is welcome.

“Here,” Ryou says, plunking a bowl down in front of Remdax in the debriefing room. “They’re no dried noodle rations, but even so...now we’re even.”

Remdax blinks at the bowl, and then takes a deep, appreciative sniff. “Hmm...thanks. Been eatin’ the same flavors for almost five years. Smells different...but good.” He digs into the bowl of fresh noodles Ryou had put together, slurping them up greedily while they wait for the others.

Shiro is the last to arrive, still in his black paladin armor but now minus the helmet. “Sorry for the wait,” he says, nodding to Matt, Remdax and Ryou and taking a seat. “Notifying the Blade took longer than anticipated.”

Ryou chuckles a little. “The duties of a leader never end.”

“Tell me about it.”

Remdax stares at them as they chat, before finally setting down his bowl and rubbing his one unscarred eye. He blinks, stares at them again, and finally shakes his head. “Now I _know_ that place made me crazy,” he says. “I’m seeing double.”

Ryou blinks back in confusion, but then shakes his head. “Oh. You haven’t seen us together yet. Right, you had to go into the pods before he got back.”

“You’re not crazy,” Shiro assures. “We’re identical twins.”

Remdax stares back and forth between them in confusion. “Really? Is that common, whatever planet you’re from?”

“Earth,” Ryou supplies, “And it’s not _common,_ but it’s not unheard of.” Even if it’s not even remotely applicable to him and Shiro.

“Let me introduce everyone,” Matt offers. “Remdax, you’ve already met me, but I’m the official liaison between the rebels and the Voltron coalition. I’ve already shown you my officer’s transponder as proof. This here is Shiro, the leader of Voltron—” he gestures to Shiro specifically, “—and you’ve already met Ryou.”

Remdax narrows his eyes. “No, I met _Shiro.”_ He glances at Ryou. “How come they’re calling _him_ Shiro, Shiro?”

Crap.

They’ve prepared a standardized lie a long time ago for similar situations, to explain Ryou and Shiro looking the same. But that cover story doesn’t extend to situations like this, for people who had already met Ryou when he’d still thought he was Shiro, outside the context of Team Voltron. It’s far too late for them to pretend Shiro had been the one the rebels had encountered. Ryou’s mind is blank as he scrabbles frantically for some kind of excuse.

Shiro, fortunately, is ahead of him here. “Shiro is actually a version of our surname,” he supplies easily. “Our full surname is Shirogane. People use Shiro as a nickname for both of us. My actual given name is Takashi, and his is Ryou.”

“When they’re both in the same room, it’s usually him that gets the Shiro nickname,” Matt jumps in helpfully, gesturing to Shiro. “But you can apply it to either of them.”

Remdax glances back and forth suspiciously between Shiro and Ryou for a moment. Ryou does his best to not let on that he’s holding his breath.

But after a moment Remdax just shrugs and shakes his head, returning to his noodles. “Earthlings are too damned complicated,” he mutters to himself. “Look the same and the same name, what a joke. We really should’ve just eaten him.”

“Excuse me?” Shiro says, a trace of alarm in his voice.

“He’s joking,” Ryou says hastily. “I think,” he adds, under his breath. He’d never been _entirely_ sure if it was a joke or not the first time.

“So, what? Am I supposed to call you Ryou now?” Remdax asks, staring Ryou in the eye.

“That would probably be a lot less complicated for everyone involved,” Ryou agrees.

Remdax snorts again. “Crazy,” he repeats. He swallows the last of the noodles and sets the bowl aside, before adding thoughtfully, “Good kind of crazy though, I guess. Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t eat you. Seeing as you came back and saved our hides.”

They begin the debrief, and once down to rebel business, Remdax is much more serious. He explains what he’d told Ryou before about how they’d been caught, but in more detail, now that they aren’t under immediate attack.

According to Remdax, their tracking systems and feelers had made it clear the Galra were coming for them specifically, and they’d had enough time to start preparing. Vakala had been in charge of downloading and saving the most important data and intel they’d collected, before destroying the rest. Remdax would set the place to blow so they could hopefully have a distraction while they ran.

“There’s lots of other hidden caves and things, on that planet,” Remdax explains. “As long as you know how to avoid the predators, like the snick—” he nods to Ryou pointedly, “—we could’ve holed up for another couple vargas, bought time for the rescue to arrive.”

Unfortunately, the Galra had arrived faster than anticipated. Though their outpost was remote for rebel territory, their quadrant did have a major Galra throughway used frequently for transporting supplies and fighters. That was why the rebels had wanted a listening outpost there to begin with. A second cruiser had shown up while the first was hunting and had been able to double the manpower needed, cutting down on the rebels’ chance of escape significantly.

“I figured we were dead. But then you showed up. Good timing,” Remdax finishes.

“What about the data? Do you know where it is, or what it entails?” Matt asks.

“Lots’ve stuff on it,” Remdax says. “It was in Vakala’s pouches. He’s got a second disc with the important things. But you’d need his password or a higher up officer’s to override it.”

Matt could probably hack it, and if he couldn’t Pidge certainly could. But it’s probably not so urgent at this point that they can’t wait a few more vargas for Vakala to wake. Still… “Do you remember what’s on it at all?” Ryou asks, curious.

Remdax shrugs. “Not really. I logged plenty’ve intercepted transmissions on the klygarg, but puttin’ it all together was Vakala’s thing more than mine. He could probably tell you more than I could.”

“Alright,” Matt says. “That should be enough for now. The Voltron coalition will house you on the Castle of Lions here tonight and tomorrow. Once Vakala is out of healing and has also debriefed and had a chance to recover, we’ll head back to the Ashstone base. That’s where you would have returned after your five years, right?”

“Right,” Remdax agrees. “Nearly got there, too. Only five feebs left. Well, can’t say I didn’t try.” He scowls. “Hope I don’t get stuck on another listening outpost again after this, though.”

Matt snorts. “I know the feeling. But there’s been a lot more activity recently….it’s possible you’ll be stationed in a more active setting, what with the introduction of the coalition.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Remdax says, looking—for Remdax—positively cheerful. “And Vakala’s going to be ok?”

“He’s already on the mend,” Ryou promises. “I spoke with Coran earlier—the pods are working on schedule. He should be out in the morning.”

Remdax nods. “Good.”

“I’ll show you where you can stay for the night,” Matt offers. “The princess has graciously provided one of the spare rooms for you until we can get you back to base.”

“Be weird to sleep on an actual mattress again,” Remdax says, as he hauls himself to his feet and follows after Matt.

Ryou waits for the two of them to leave the room completely, before letting out an exhausted sigh and sinking in his seat. “Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure that was going to work.”

“Same,” Shiro admits. “Most people are easy enough to trick with the twin story, but most people haven’t met either of us outside Voltron, either.”

“Quick thinking, though,” Ryou says. “Thanks. I was at a loss.”

Shiro grins. “I’ve got you covered.”

“I’m glad,” Ryou says. “It would have been embarrassing as hell to get caught out after all this time by _Remdax.”_

* * *

 

It’s very late by the time the debrief passes, and most of the team elects to head for bed. It’s hard to imagine they’d been in the middle of dinner when the distress signal had come; it feels like so much has happened in so short a span of time. Although sleep doesn’t always come easily to Ryou, tonight he’s out almost as soon as his head hits the pillow, only just realizing how exhausted he’d been.

In the morning, as Coran had predicted, Vakala steps out of the healing pods good as new—and thoroughly confused. He _had_ been unconscious through the entire rescue, after all.

It takes Remdax’s explanation to convince Vakala he hasn’t been captured. But once that’s worked out, he’s much less suspicious of the rest of team Voltron, enough to willingly sit down for his own debriefing with Matt, Shiro and Ryou.

That had also been complicated, at first. Like Remdax, Vakala had also been equally confused about the presence of not one, but two Shiro’s, and just as suspicious of the naming situation. But he’s given the same explanation that Shiro had offered last night to Remdax, about the single nickname based on their surname.

Vakala stares thoughtfully at both Shiro and Ryou for a while, glancing back and forth between them as Shiro patiently explains. It takes him longer than Remdax to accept the reasoning, and he does ask once how it doesn’t get confusing for them. But ultimately, although just as baffled by ‘strange Earthling customs’ as Remdax, he too seems to buy the story. Ryou is relieved by that, at least.

Once that hurdle is cleared, the actual debrief is simple by comparison. Vakala’s story is more or less the same as Remdax’s, with a few additional details.

“The sentries got in too quickly,” Vakala says. “I didn’t have time to recover all the data from the klygarg before I was forced to destroy it, or risk it falling into Galra hands. But I did get the important bits.” He holds up a palm-sized flat black drive with orange trim, recovered from one of the pouches on his uniform that had been returned to him when he’d left the pod. “Everything here should be useful to the rebels.” He glances over at Shiro and Ryou. “And Voltron too, I guess.”

“What kinds of information are on the disc?” Matt asks, curious.

“All kinds of things. Our outpost was way inside Galra territory on a major Galra thoroughfare. You wouldn’t believe the kind of stuff they’d spit out over their comms because they figured they had secure enough connections behind their own lines,” Vakala says, smug. “Encrypted coordinates, major supply lines or resource planets, secret projects, future targets. All places to look into further. Hitting any of them could hurt the Galra hard.”

Matt grins. “That’s _excellent._ Even names and coordinates gives us a place to start. You did a great job saving this.”

“I just wish I could’ve gotten more,” Vakala says, muttering to himself. “I’m sure there was a lot more that the rebels and the coalition could’ve used.”

“You did what you could,” Ryou says reassuringly. “If you’d stayed any longer you’d probably be dead, and the Galra would have recovered an operable klygarg. It sounds like you got us plenty of data to work with.”

Vakala stares at Ryou for a long moment, thoughtful, before he finally nods. “I guess you’re right,” he finally agrees. “And with Voltron on our side, maybe it’ll be enough.”

“Can we get a copy of that data before you head back to the rebel base?” Shiro asks, glancing between Matt and Vakala. “Obviously the rebels need to review it too. But if I can take a look sooner rather than later, we might be able to target some of these places with Voltron, before the Galra can fortify in response to their failed capture attempt.”

Vakala hesitates, staring at Ryou for a moment. Considering Ryou _had_ sort of forced him into revealing rebel data last time, he’s not surprised. The rebel fighter glances to Shiro next, and then finally turns to Matt. “Sir?”

“I think it’s okay,” Matt says. “We’d be sharing the information right away, anyway. Rebel forces are strong, but it will take a while to organize and prepare any strikes based on this data. Voltron has better maneuverability and raw power. We don’t want to waste the opportunity.”

“Alright then. I can make a copy before we leave.” Vakala’s stomach rumbles, and he adds sheepishly, “But maybe after eating? If we’re done debriefing?”

Matt nods. “I think we’re done here. I’ll radio ahead and let them know when to expect us.”

Ryou grins. “Perfect timing. Hunk should just be finishing up breakfast. I wouldn’t be surprised if Remdax was already there.”

“He’s a bottomless pit,” Vakala agrees. “And he can sniff out cooking rations from the other side of the outpost. He’s already there for sure.”

Ryou laughs.

Remdax is indeed already there, as is the rest of the team, when the four of them show up in the dining hall. Matt makes the introductions quickly, going around the table. The more alert members of the team wave or say hello, while the more sleep deprived paladins stare like zombies at the latest visitor.

“Don’t mind them,” Ryou says, as he gestures for Vakala to sit. “They’ll wake up. Eventually.”

Both Vakala and Remdax are a little slow to warm to the rest of the team, at first. Nearly five years of isolation behind enemy lines have made them both a little icy towards new people, and it has nothing to do with the frozen planet they’d just been rescued from. But they do eventually start to come around, thanks in no small part to Hunk’s breakfast spread.

“This is _delicious,”_ Vakala says, slurping up a bowlful of food. “What is it?”

“Fresh fruit,” Hunk says, a little incredulous.

“No wonder it tastes so good,” Valaka says. “It’s not dried!”

“It’s amazing what a little not being dried does to food,” Remdax agrees, hoovering up his own breakfast, to the bewildered stares of everyone else.

Once they’ve become a little more friendly, besides eating the majority of what had been on the table for everyone, Vakala and Remdax are more than willing to recount the time they’d met Ryou.

It’s not a story Ryou had gone into deeply with most of the team, and they had never pried too deeply into it on their own. At the time, he’d thought he’d been Shiro, and he wasn’t the type to explain his own hardships to anyone. And they’d found him dying in a Galra fighter, so they’d been happy enough just to have their missing leader back in one piece.

As Shiro, he’d only ever told Keith parts of the story, mostly because Keith had stubbornly dug it out of him. And as Ryou, he’d never really needed to recount it again to anyone, even the real Shiro.

So the story is fresh to everyone involved. They listen with rapt attention (and at some points, alarm) as Vakala and Remdax recount how they’d found Ryou fighting an enormous tentacle-crab creature called a snick, assumed he was a Galra spy, and captured him. Ryou recounts how he’d escaped, only to double back and recruit them for their assistance. And all three switch off on the last part, explaining how they’d worked together to help Ryou escape the planet to a Galra cruiser so he could steal a fighter to get back to Voltron.

“This guy’s crazy!” Remdax finishes, jerking a thumb in Ryou’s direction. “But the good kind of crazy. Real glad we didn’t eat him. Can’t believe we thought he was a Galra spy!”

“I’m glad you were able to overcome your miscommunications and work together,” Allura says quickly, with her best friendly diplomat voice. The rest of the team is very carefully silent, and those with poor poker faces hastily stare at their plates or stuff something in their mouths as a cover up.

After all, every single other person at the table knows _exactly_ how right Vakala and Remdax had really been. But they all understand how important it is to protect Ryou’s actual identity, too.

For the benefit of Vakala and Remdax, Ryou briefly explains how he’d used the fighter they’d helped him get to in order to follow Voltron until he’d found the rest of the team. Both are delighted—in their own way—to hear their assistance had brought so much success. The rest of the team adds their own side of things, and then eventually they conversation moves on to explaining several other interesting adventures with Voltron. By the time breakfast is over, the rebels are much more comfortable with the rest of the team, enough to share a few funny anecdotes or small adventures of their own from the ice planet they’d been stationed on.

“Alright,” Shiro says finally. “This has been entertaining, but it’s time to get to work. We’ve got Voltron training today, so everyone suit up and be in their hangars in ten doboshes. Allura, Keith and Lance, we’ll be training with all Voltron configurations today, so we’ll rotate the three of you in and out as needed.”

“Just as well,” Matt says. “I need to get started on the copy of Vakala’s data, and notifying headquarters we’re coming.”

Ryou nods. “I’ve got another diplomacy mission in a quintent, so I need to prepare for that.”

“Good,” Shiro says. “Everyone has their tasks, so let’s get to it.”

The rest of the paladins groan, but get up from their seats to shuffle off for their uniforms, followed by a gently cajoling Shiro. Coran begins whisking the dirty dishes away off the table to be cleaned, and soon disappears into the kitchen.

Ryou gets up to head for his own research, but Vakala calls out to him first. “Hold up. Ryou, got a tick?”

Ryou blinks, but obligingly halts. “What’s up?”

“You too, sir,” Vakala says, nodding to Matt. “You should probably hear this. Hey, Remdax—can you radio ahead and let’em know we might be a few doboshes late?”

“I _hate_ communications,” Remdax grumbles, but he does pull out a rebel transponder and starts fiddling with the controls.

Vakala nods, and heads for the far end of the enormous dining hall. Matt and Ryou exchange glances, and Matt raises an eyebrow. Ryou shrugs. He knows these two rebels better than anybody else here, but that still doesn’t mean he knows them _well._ He has no idea what Vakala wants to say.

Vakala waits until they’re both over in the corner with him. He glances back and forth between them, observing. Matt and Ryou exchange glances again, but just as Ryou is finally ready to break and ask what this is all about, Vakala answers that very question with one of his own.

“You’re not really twins with that other guy, are you?”

Ryou’s heart rises into his throat.

“What are you talking about?” he asks after a moment, fighting hard to keep his face politely bemused. His voice is just a little too strained to pull it off, though.

“He’s identical to Shiro,” Matt agrees, voice also just slightly too strained to be natural. “What else could he be?”

“Look, I’m not stupid,” Vakala says, now staring firmly at Ryou. “And I was on that listening outpost for almost five years. Heard a lot of things, like I said in my debrief. Including transmissions about something called Operation Kuron.”

Ryou’s heart drops from his throat to his stomach like a crashing ship. It thuds so loudly he’s amazed Vakala can’t hear it. Through sheer force of will, he keeps his expression blank. “And?”

Vakala snorts. “Like I said. The Galra had lots of secret projects going on. Never got full details, but sometimes you could pick up enough clues to get an idea of what it was about. And one of those we’d pick up on sometimes? ‘Operation Kuron.’ Near as I could figure, it was some kind of superweapon the Galra were building. A game changer that was gonna defeat Voltron itself. _Exactly_ the kind of thing we were on that outpost to listen for.”

There’s a sick twist in his stomach as Ryou listens to himself being described like that. Not for the first time, he’s disgusted and a little ashamed of what he’d been made for. Even if he’d never asked to be that, even if he’d rejected all of it, it still hurts.

“And then,” Vakala continues, still keeping a wary eye on Ryou, “the _quintent_ before we found you on our outpost planet, we intercepted a transmission to headquarters. ‘Operation Kuron Stage Three Underway.’ And then you crash-landed on our planet in a Galra pod. We figured, couldn’t be a coincidence, right? The super weapon’s just been activated.”

Belatedly, Ryou realizes that Vakala had led them into the corner in such a way that both rebels could block him from running. Matt wouldn’t, of course, but Vakala’s caution and his suspicion is clear. His heart pounds even harder, but he doesn’t dare say anything. Matt is silent too, just as stunned.

“When you crash-landed, we wondered if maybe you had this super weapon with you, or the pod,” Vakala continues. “We hunted the pod down and searched the wreckage but didn’t find anything. We figured maybe the pilot kept it, so we tracked you, and found you fighting the snick.

“We figured you’d use this crazy super-weapon to save yourself, so we watched, figuring we could report on it once we saw it in action. But you didn’t save yourself. We still figured maybe you knew about it, so we drove it off and captured you. But you never talked about it, and you never hurt us even when you had us good as dead.” Vakala shrugs. “Seemed clear you weren’t involved at that point, at least to me. So we helped you.”

If only. He was _absolutely_ right, but not even Ryou had known it at the time. That was the cruel brilliance of the project. He could never give anything away, and he’d been designed to be trusted.

“I monitored for a time after that,” Vakala finishes. “Never heard about a prisoner being recaptured after you left us. But then maybe eight feebs later I intercepted something again. ‘Operation Kuron has been compromised.’ Right after some big battle that the Galra were real excited about—enough to restrict sixty-five Rebulon zones of territory because of some detonation that would blow up the whole quadrant. And based on the chatter...Voltron was in it.”

Vakala stares Ryou in the eye. “I don’t know the specifics, but…you’re connected to that, aren’t you?”

Ryou swallows.

“That’s a jump to conclusions, don’t you think?” Matt cuts in. “It really _could_ just be a coincidence.”

“Weird sort of coincidence,” Vakala says. “And weird other things, too. You didn’t know if you’d been captured or not when we captured you.”

“I knew you’d captured me,” Ryou says weakly.

“You didn’t know if you were captured by _the Galra,”_ Vakala clarifies. “You knew you escaped. You couldn’t remember how you got on that cruiser to begin with.” He shrugs. “And there’s other weird things, too. That story about you _both_ being Shiro is fishy. Seems kind of confusing. And some of the stories you guys were telling at breakfast make it sound like one of you wasn’t always around.”

“Shiro was lost on a mission into space, back on Earth,” Ryou tries, spitting out their standardized story. The excuse sounds hollow even as he says it. “I left Earth after to try and find him and joined the team later.”

Vakala doesn’t look like he buys it this time, and frankly Ryou can’t blame him. The rebel shakes his head. “What I can’t figure is how everyone else factors in,” he finishes. “You look the same as that Shiro guy, but you can’t really be family, unless you’re a traitor. If you were, then why wait so long? And why would you have even the same scars?” He gestures absently to his face and his arm. “But if you’re connected to Operation Kuron, then you don’t really belong here, so why would everyone act like you do? Unless…” His eyes widen, and he stares at Matt. “You already know?”

Matt frowns. “This isn’t enough evidence for an accusation like this—”

“Matt,” Ryou says, very softly.

Matt sighs, but finally, grudgingly, nods. “Everyone at the table today knows,” he states. “It is absolutely confidential information everywhere else. Not even Olia or the other officers know. If they did, Ryou would be taken, interrogated, and possibly executed.”

Vakala frowns. “But you _know_ he’s in on some super-secret Galra operation?”

“Was,” Matt corrects. “He _was_ in on it, but not knowingly.”

“I was being used,” Ryou says, still very softly.

It’s painful to even admit to it. He’s not sure Vakala understands the full extent of how, exactly, he was involved; he doesn’t think Vakala has come to the ‘clone’ conclusion. Ryou wouldn’t blame him for that, since it’s not exactly common practice.

So he doesn’t go into details, but this is enough. “I didn’t understand how, but I was being used to try and destroy Voltron. It’s not an excuse. But as soon as I learned, I rejected all of that.”

“It’s true,” Matt agrees. “We have confirmed— _all_ of us, with Altean, human, and rebel technologies and magics—without a shadow of a doubt that Ryou no longer has any dangerous influences or connections to the Galra. Operation Kuron was compromised and terminated, just like you said. Ryou is a paladin of Voltron now. He’s risked his life and done dozens of heroic things to protect the universe. That’s all that matters.”

Vakala looks back and forth between them for a long moment, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He doesn’t speak for a long time, and Ryou’s heart thuds so hard it’s as though it’s trying to smash his way out of his chest.

What do they do if Vakala doesn’t accept the truth? With this kind of information he’d be fully within his rights to report it to the rebels. Ryou would, as Matt said, be captured and interrogated. At best he’d receive a swift but merciful death as a traitor that had endangered the lives of trillions of people, due to the Naxzela incident. At worst, he’d be picked apart as a lab rat, studied extensively to learn the Galra’s cloning tricks so similar tactics couldn’t be used again. Ryou is terrified of either of those ends.

And what would the team do, if it came to that? He can’t see any of them sitting idly by, or letting Ryou be taken without argument. Shiro in particular would become viciously protective, and probably Keith as well. Even more passive paladins like Hunk wouldn’t take such a turn of events so easily; he’s usually one of the most adamant about rescuing others.

Ryou doesn’t know to what extent any of them would go to try and protect him, but he imagines it could get violent. And the rebels would be less likely to ever trust Voltron again, once they learn the team is sitting on such a secret. Is it really worth starting a divide within the coalition over _him?_

Ryou’s stomach twists uncomfortably again as Vakala stares at them, considering. Then the rebel finally speaks. “You know, it’s a real shame.”

Ryou doesn’t think it’s possible for his heart to sink any lower, but he’s proven wrong. “What is?”

Vakala shakes his head. “It’s just, when the sentries attacked, I thought I got more information than I did. But now that I think about it, I think I lost a few more data sets from the klygarg.” He sighs, and holds up the black and orange data disc, looking at it with exaggerated disappointment. “Well, I think it was about a terminated project anyway. Can’t be _that_ important.”

Ryou’s eyes widen, and for the first time, the dread in his chest starts to recede, and a little flutter of hope grows. Matt takes a sharp breath.

“That’s too bad,” Ryou says cautiously. “But you did your best to get as much as you could.”

“Yeah,” Vakala says. “I tried, at least. It’s just real _frustrating._ I got a nasty crack on the head while we were escaping, so I just can’t remember what I even missed.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Matt says, with just the slightest ghost of a smile on his face now. “Altean technology healed the bump, but sometimes those memories just never come back.”

Vakala gives an exaggerated sigh, but he’s smiling a little, too.

Ryou’s not quite ready to smile just yet, though. “Why?” he asks, still soft. “Why are you doing this?”

Vakala considers for a moment, and shrugs. “Honestly? I’m not sure what this is all about. Or even if this is the right thing to do. Or if we even did the right thing helping you the first time. Maybe things worked out, but maybe they might not have.

“But you saved our hides this time. And everyone here obviously trusts you. Including one of our own officers.” He nods to Matt. “I figure they’ve probably got a better idea of the situation here than me. And I figure it’d probably cause more trouble than it’s worth to break that up.” He puts his hands on his hips. “So. Now we’re even.”

Ryou’s anxiousness gives way to relief. “Thank you,” he says. “You have no idea what this means.”

“Probably not, and I don’t want to,” Vakala says flatly. “Less I know, the better.”

“What about Remdax?” Matt asks, nodding to the other rebel, still fiddling with his communicator on the far side of the room.

Vakala snorts. “Don’t worry about him. He can’t even remember his own damn password for the klygarg most of the time. He was mostly there to shoot things. I doubt he’d put it all together, and I won’t tell.”

Ryou chuckles softly. “I...see. Well. I still appreciate it.”

Vakala nods. “Now if this is actually gonna work, I need to get rid of the data on this disc before we hand it over, or we’ll _all_ be in trouble.”

“I’ll help with that,” Matt promises. “I can delete it without any trace. But we’d better get moving. We’ll need to leave soon.”

“Thank you,” Ryou repeats, this time to the two of them. He really doesn’t deserve this—he has a lot of things to atone for, even if he’d been unconsciously doing most of them, and probably doesn’t deserve to have it buried. Not when it’s putting these two at potential risk, as well. But he appreciates that they’re willing to take the risk for him, anyway.

Matt grins at him. “No problem.” Vakala just shrugs indifferently.

They head off to get to work, collecting a complaining Remdax along the way. Ryou turns to head to his own diplomatic research, but even once he gets to the bridge and brings up all the data, he finds he just can’t focus. Even if today’s events have a positive ending, it had still stirred up a dozen anxieties that Ryou would rather have stayed buried. After half a varga he gives up on the diplomatic prep.

He’d _like_ to sit in the Black Lion for a while, and just talk to it. But the Lion is out today in training, working with Shiro and Keith, so that’s not an option.

In the end, he retreats to his room, where the soothing scent of his recently acquired dream ivy helps to settle his nerves a little. He absently rubs one of the leaves between his left thumb and forefinger, and the calming scent gets stronger, as though the plant senses his distress.

“No one’s ever figured it out before,” Ryou says out loud, half to the plant, and half to himself. “I’ve never felt like I’ve been _hiding_ before.”

He’s always been _aware_ of the danger of being found out, of course. That was why he and Shiro had concocted the whole ‘twin’ story to begin with, as a cover. And of course there were others that knew about him. The Blade of Marmora had been instrumental in rescuing Shiro, which meant all of them knew what he really was. Slav had known, but was surprisingly decent at keeping a secret. There were even, presumably, Galra scientists and Haggar herself who knew what he really was, but revealing it would cost them just as much as it would cost Voltron.

But this was the first time anyone had called him out directly on what he’d been made for since the team itself had done it, when he’d first discovered what he really was. Vakala had never used the word ‘clone,’ but he’d seemed to know Ryou didn’t belong, and wasn’t an actual biological twin of Shiro’s. He’d been agreeable, but it could have been _so_ much worse.

Ryou doesn’t like considering how much worse it could have gotten. He doesn’t want to be a prisoner, ever again; not like Shiro had been, and not like he had been. He doesn’t want the others getting in trouble on _his_ account. And for the first time, he feels like a fugitive, instead of a family member.

He mulls over that for far longer than he should. Not even the dream ivy’s quintessence-affecting scent can settle his nerves completely.

He doesn’t really feel any better by the time Matt asks over the comms to borrow Allura for a wormhole, so he can take the two other rebels back to base. But he does give up on stewing for the moment to go see them off.

“I’m glad you two are okay,” he says, as Vakala and Remdax get ready to board an Altean pod with Matt. “And I’m glad we could get you out in time.”

“Mostly thanks to you,” Vakala says. “Thanks for your help.” Remdax grunts in agreement.

Ryou shakes his head. “It wasn’t just me. But you guys helped me out in a time of need when I didn’t have anyone else to rely on. I appreciate that. So now we’re square, I think.”

“Sounds about right,” Remdax says. “Thanks for the noodles.”

“I’m sure we’ll see you again at some point,” Vakala adds. “With the rebels and Voltron collaborating so much.”

“Long as we don’t get stuck on another listening outpost,” Remdax grumbles.

Ryou laughs. “Good luck with that. I’m sure Matt can put in a good word for you. I’d offer myself, but I don’t know how much mine counts for.”

“I’ll mention it to the higher ups,” Matt says, amused.

Remdax boards the shuttle. Vakala turns to climb in as well, but Ryou catches him by the shoulder real quick. “Thanks,” he says softly.

Vakala nods. “Like you said. Now we’re square. Keep looking out for Voltron. Your ideas are crazy, but they work.”

Ryou smiles softly. “You can count on it. And if you ever need my help with anything again—you let me know.”

Vakala nods, before turning away and climbing into the shuttle. Ryou backs away as Matt activates the ship and seals the cabin, and it soars away. Within moments it’s gone, disappearing into the wormhole Allura opens for them.

Ryou doesn’t really know what to do with himself after that. He tries the training deck for a bit, but his heart isn’t in the exercises. He’s listless at lunch and not particularly hungry, nor is he terribly involved in the paladins’ excitable conversations about the day’s training exercise.

Inevitably, Shiro notices. He sends the team off for their next set of exercises with Keith leading at first, and pulls Ryou aside. “Okay,” he says. “What happened?”

Ryou pauses for a moment, but there’s only so long he could avoid sharing. Matt was sure to tell Shiro when he got back. “Vakala knows I’m a clone.”

 _“What?”_ Shiro’s eyes widen. His metal fingers twitch almost imperceptibly, as though ready to defend. “How? What _happened?”_

“They intercepted some transmissions about...about Operation Kuron,” Ryou says. He stumbles over the project name, and it all but burns on his tongue. He hates it, and the memories it brings back. “I guess...the day they let me escape, there must have been a transmission about it. And there were others later, for Naxzela. He put most of it together from that. I don’t know if he knows I’m a clone, exactly, but he knows I’m not actually your twin.”

“And we just let them go back to the rebels?” Shiro asks, worried and angry at the same time. He knows the dangers of the rebels learning what Ryou is. And just as Ryou had been afraid of, he can already see Shiro’s protectiveness rising.

“He agreed not to share,” Ryou says quickly. “He and Matt even deleted the….the transmissions he’d gotten about me from his data sets. He promised not to say anything, and Remdax didn’t know.”

Shiro sighs with relief. “At least that won’t get out.”

“No,” Ryou says. “But even so...that was close.”

There must be something uncomfortable in his expression, because Shiro puts a hand on his shoulder. “You _know_ we won’t let anything happen to you,” he promises. “We didn’t fight this hard to get you a second chance just for this to happen.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Ryou mutters. “One wrong move and what I am can put _everyone_ in danger.”

“The whole team is a family. It’s a risk they’re all willing to take for you. They’ve all said as much.”

“I know. The threat just never felt this _real_ before. It didn’t seem like anyone could figure it out.” Ryou shakes his head. “And if they can figure it out, it’s possible others could, too.”

“If that happens, we will figure out a way to deal with it,” Shiro promises, squeezing Ryou’s shoulder.

“I know you’ll try,” Ryou says. He doesn’t know how successful they’ll be, but he _knows_ they’ll try. “I’ve just never felt more like a fugitive than today. And that includes that time that I was _you.”_

“Well, then you’re in good company,” Shiro says, with forced lightness. “Matt and I are both escaped Galra convicts, Allura and Coran are the last Alteans alive, we’ve got four displaced teens—one of whom is half alien—and every single one of us are wanted by the Galra because of Voltron. We’re a family of fugitives. You fit in just fine.”

It’s hardly a funny situation, but Ryou snorts at that anyway. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Shiro says. “You did a good thing here by rescuing those two. It sounds like they aren’t going to cause any trouble. Don’t borrow more—you’ll just worry yourself sick.”

“Right.” Ryou takes a deep breath. “You’re right. This was a weird case, anyway. We did a good job covering everything up. No sense worrying over nothing.”

“That’s it.” Shiro squeezes his shoulder one last time, and finally lets go. “You good?”

“I’m good. Go ahead and get back to training.” He offers a weak smile. “Don’t want to leave poor Keith to deal with the rest of them alone for too long.”

“That would be mean,” Shiro agrees with a soft laugh. “Alright. I’ll see you at dinner then. And seriously—things will work out. We’ll make them, if we have to.”

“Right.”

He watches Shiro walk away, thoughtful. He doesn’t feel _better_ exactly—still a little shaken. He’s so used to being camouflaged so perfectly, even in the new life he’s built for himself, that being found out at all is eye-opening and a little scary.

But Shiro’s right, too. There’s no sense borrowing trouble. There’s always a very real possibility that one day, somebody might figure out what Ryou really is, and what he’d been made for. And that somebody might have the best interests for the universe in mind, but they won’t match Ryou’s. It’s a frightening thought.

But it hasn’t happened yet. And when it does—if it does—they’ll deal with it when the time comes.

Ryou just has to believe in that, and believe in the team, and hope he never does see that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wondered how on earth the Galra could notify command headquarters that 'Operation Kuron Stage 3 is underway' right above the planet with the guys listening to transmissions and nobody suspected a thing.


End file.
